In your first week someone will ask which POD you are on. This section tells you what that means and who to turn to inside one.
One POD, one client
A POD is the team that delivers for one client. One POD, one client. The client you work for never waits in a queue behind another.
The name stands for Product Oriented Delivery. It comes from technology companies, where one small team owns one product from start to finish. At ORIGIN, one team owns one client's engagement in the same way.
Who sits in a POD
ORIGIN team members.
Freelancers, people who work for themselves, for a specialist skill or when more people are needed.
Agencies, hired for a defined part of the work.
Three words that look alike
The life of a POD
- 1It is formed when the deal is signed.
- 2It starts with the kickoff, the first meeting with the client.
- 3It runs for as long as the engagement.
- 4It closes properly: knowledge is handed over and the team moves to other work.
ORIGIN signs a new client. One existing POD has a quiet month ahead. Who delivers for the new client?
One POD, one client.
A new client always gets a new POD. Work is never added to an existing team, because that would put two clients in one queue.
One POD, one client. The client you work for never waits in a queue behind another.
Who leads it, and three rules
Every POD is led by a Team Lead, the single person responsible for the work and for the client's satisfaction. Outside ORIGIN the same role is called an engagement director, a project manager or a POD lead. Here we say Team Lead. As Act 01 showed, Team Leads sit in PMO.
For many people they are the same person.
Three rules that always apply
The Team Lead is always a full time ORIGIN team member. The client relationship is never handed to an outsider.
You can work in more than one POD only if they share the same Team Lead, so one person can settle your clashing deadlines.
Subject matter experts, the people with deep knowledge of one craft, are brought into a POD when needed. Ask through your Team Lead.
Two PODs want you this month. They have different Team Leads. Can you work in both?
One person has to be able to settle your clashing deadlines.
A POD is a promise: one named person responsible for one client.
Before you move on
Three questions before you move on. Type your answer, send it, then check it.
Your answers stay on this device.1What is a POD, and what does the name stand for?
The answerThe team that delivers for one client. Product Oriented Delivery.
2Who leads a POD?
The answerA Team Lead, the single person responsible for the work and for the client's satisfaction.
3Your Team Lead and your line manager are two different people. Who decides what?
The answerYour Team Lead decides what you do on the engagement. Your line manager looks after your goals and your growth.
One POD. One client.
Next: how we measure success.